The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 516
After nearly a month of staggering, he finally arrived in the capital.

With the support of officials and chariots sent by the imperial court, Jia Lian returned to the capital in a big way with a large amount of silver and property.

After clearing the handover with the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Jia Lian went directly to the South Study Room of Daming Palace to reply to the decree.

"My humble minister, Jia Lian, greets Your Majesty, long live my emperor."

"Be flat."

Emperor Ningkang still looked thin and majestic. He looked at Jia Lian who had been separated for three months, nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "This time we investigated the salt administration and punished corruption. Aiqing has worked hard and worked hard."

"To be loyal to His Majesty is the great honor of this humble minister."

After the simple conversation, Emperor Ningkang picked up the memorials that had been prepared in the case and asked Dai Quan to pass them to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian seemed puzzled, picked up two books one after another, and after reading them for a while, his complexion changed slightly, and then immediately knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, these people are pure slander, since I led the decree to go to Jiangnan, I have always kept in mind His majesty's entrustment, I have thought very hard, and I am afraid that I will fail your majesty.

These ministers rely on these non-existent things to accuse the humble ministers for no reason. They really have ulterior motives and are extremely hateful!

I also ask Your Majesty to be clear, don't listen to the remarks of these villains.

They don't know how vicious and difficult those salt merchants and salt officials are!Knowing this, His Majesty should have sent these people to Yangzhou in the first place, and let them experience the feeling of racking their brains every day with salt merchants and local officials, and being prepared to be assassinated at any time.At that time, let's see if they can still make sarcastic remarks and maliciously slander others! "

Jia Lian said with hatred on his face, as if if the person who wrote these memorials were here, he would step forward and punch him.

Gein was just as Jia Yucun expected, before he returned to Beijing, many ministers in the court had already started to impeach him.Some of these memorials were written even before he left Yangzhou, and the content is probably nothing more than a protest and impeachment against his "rampant form" and "disrespect for the law" in Yangzhou.

There are also doubts that he took the opportunity to amass money and enrich his own pockets, but they are all speculations and are not worth mentioning.

Emperor Ningkang carefully looked at Jia Lian's expression, and after Jia Lian had vented his emotions, Fang said lightly: "I have read every memorial you sent back to the capital, and I know your difficulties, so naturally I would not listen to these People make assumptions about you.

The reason why I show you these is just to let you know that there are deficiencies and inadequacies in your own actions, and you should try your best to avoid them if you work for the court in the future.

In addition, although I believe in you, I cannot completely ignore the opinions of the courtiers.Today you go back to rest, and tomorrow you come to the morning court, if there are ministers who make things difficult for you, you should tell them face to face, and just return your innocence.

Get up. "

"My minister obeys the order, thank you Your Majesty for your trust and love..."

"As for your reward, I will send someone to your residence after the court meeting."

"Thank you, my emperor, for your kindness..."

"Do you have anything else?"

Seeing that Jia Lian was still standing there after thanking him for his kindness, Emperor Ningkang seemed a little puzzled and asked.

"Well, I do have something to report to His Majesty..."

As Jia Lian spoke, he glanced at the few young eunuchs in the hall.

Dai Quan understood, glanced at Emperor Ningkang, and found that Emperor Ningkang raised his eyebrows, so he waved his hand to make the little eunuchs retreat.

"Let's talk." Emperor Ningkang's tone was a bit annoyed, because there were very few courtiers who dared to make him hold back.

But with Jia Lian's sharp eyes, it was easy to spot the look of anticipation in Emperor Ningkang's eyes.

So he took out a brocade box that had been prepared a long time ago from his sleeve, and did not allow Dai Quan to submit it. He bent forward and presented it directly to Emperor Ningkang's case, and said with a smile: "Report to Your Majesty, this is Yangzhou City The salt merchants, entrusted Weichen to hand over to His Majesty.

They said that they had failed the court's high hopes and His Majesty's trust, so in addition to voluntarily donating 400 million taels of silver to the court to make amends, they also took the initiative to donate 300 million taels of silver to His Majesty as a thank you for not killing him. .

Inside, there are a total of 100 million taels of banknotes from major banks, and the other 200 million taels are cash. We have already ordered someone to co-author the purchase of places in Jiangnan provinces for His Majesty and all the ladies in the palace. Souvenirs were escorted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs together. "

Rao was prepared in his heart, Emperor Ningkang was also moved by the number of 300 million taels.

Even for him, this number is not small.

Excluding the expenses of the Supreme Emperor, the amount of money he withdraws from the national treasury every year will not exceed this amount.Of course, the expenditure in the palace naturally does not depend entirely on the supply from the national treasury, but also from the output of the major Huangzhuang below.

He is the emperor, and every year he has to reward his courtiers, hold state banquets, maintain the expenses of the palace, etc., and spend a lot of money.

Emperor Ningkang was very satisfied with Jia Lian's move.

Although he is the emperor, the difference is not particularly big whether the money flows into the treasury or into his internal funds.After all, the money in these two places is his money.

It's just that he has to discuss with the courtiers to spend the money in the treasury, and he will be restrained. If he spends too much, he will be charged by the courtiers as a waste of state capital.

In contrast, the internal money is much more arbitrary. He can use it however he wants, and no one can control it.

Flipping through the brand-new bank note casually, Emperor Ningkang looked at Jia Lian with even more satisfaction.

Regardless of whether the money was really filial to those salt merchants, or Jia Lian withheld it from the treasury, in short, Jia Lian can fully understand what he meant at the beginning, and solve his embarrassment of lack of money, he is a person who can share the worries of the king. Powerful servant!
Well, it works pretty well.Although no one dared to stop and inspect the money even if it was directly transported to his Ministry of Internal Affairs, Jia Lian could think of a way to pay respect to local specialties and transport it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for him, so that even the suspicion of the courtiers would be avoided. up.

But besides being happy, Emperor Ningkang frowned again, and asked Jia Lian, "Those salt merchants, are they really so rich? Can they just come up with millions of taels of silver?"

After all, Emperor Ningkang was a peaceful emperor. After ascending the throne, he never went out of the vicinity of Gyeonggi.

In his opinion, the amount Jia Lian had submitted to the household department before was already quite a lot, and the value of silver plus all kinds of rare antiques, calligraphy and paintings was between 800 and [-] million.

If you add the 300 million taels, wouldn't it be more than 1000 million taels!

This amount, even he, couldn't help being stunned.After all, Jia Lian has only been in Yangzhou for three months, and he has only stayed in Yangzhou for more than a month. Regardless of whether his methods are greedy and rude, but in one month, he was able to search for more than 1000 million taels of wealth from Yangzhou. Incredible.

Jia Lian immediately replied: "It's not just about being rich, Your Majesty doesn't know that although Yangzhou is a state capital of Jinling Province, in terms of prosperity, it's really comparable to Jinling City.

Not to mention those big salt merchants, which one doesn't have seven or eight luxurious manors?Take the Zhao family and Wang family who dared to assassinate Weichen as an example. The money in the family is really piled up like a mountain. When Weichen and others went in to search, they were almost taken aback! "

Emperor Ningkang's face wrinkled when he heard this, but then he let go.

One is that he has not put too much energy on the salt administration, and the other is that the profits of the salt company are there. Even if these people are killed and replaced, it may not be better than the current group.

So Emperor Ningkang looked at Jia Lian, smiled pointedly and said, "Oh, since these salt merchants are so rich, why didn't they show anything to you, a great imperial envoy?"

Hearing this, Jia Lian looked calm and took a look at Dai Quan.

Dai Quan immediately turned to Emperor Ningkang and said, "Your Majesty, forgive me. Just now when Marquis Zhenyuan entered the palace, he said that he wanted to present a few treasures to the emperor. The slave thought that since it was Marquis Zhenyuan's wish, he must give it to the emperor. His Majesty's surprise, he didn't tell the Emperor first."

Emperor Ningkang glanced at him and said noncommittally: "Since that's the case, don't ask people to submit it."

After a while, the young eunuchs filed in and unfolded a total of four calligraphy and paintings.

When Emperor Ningkang saw it, he knew that Jia Lian was in his favor, and he didn't pretend to be reserved. He walked out from behind the dragon case and began to observe and comment one by one.

Although Emperor Ningkang was not as old and fond of utensils as the Supreme Emperor, but because he was good at calligraphy, he was more interested in calligraphy and painting.

Emperor Ningkang looked at the first few pictures and nodded slightly, thinking that they were not bad. No wonder Jia Lian dared to present them to him in such a mysterious way.

When his eyes swept to the fourth picture, Emperor Ningkang quietly fixed his eyes, and immediately took two steps closer, carefully rubbing it.

Seeing this, Dai Quan quietly gave Jia Lian a thumbs up.

As a close person of the emperor, Dai Quan certainly knows that serving the emperor, sometimes offering something the emperor likes is more useful than making many great contributions to the court!

Judging from Emperor Ningkang's performance, one can tell that Jia Lian has succeeded.

Emperor Ningkang bent down and looked at it for a while before raising his head. Then he seemed to feel that Cai's performance had lost the majesty of the emperor, so he coughed lightly and asked Jia Lian in a low voice, "Is this the real work?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, I don't know calligraphy and painting very well, so I can't give an accurate answer to Your Majesty. However, it was indeed presented to me when I was in Yangzhou.

I also asked people to identify one or two, and most people said that it should be authentic.

Because the reputation of this post is too great, I dare not make judgments.I also remembered that I had the honor to witness His Majesty's superb calligraphy attainments during my previous visits, so today I specially dedicate it to Your Majesty for your Majesty to appreciate. "

Jia Lian said with a smile.In fact, this pair of Wang Xizhi's "Ping An Tie" was copied from the Zhao family.But, since it was copied, he withheld it and offered it to the emperor. Naturally, he would be suspected of borrowing flowers to offer Buddha.

Emperor Ningkang nodded, feeling that Jia Lian's words were to the point.After all, even Wang Xizhi's fan, he dare not confirm at a glance whether it is authentic, because there are too many imitations of this famous post.

Many high imitation, the value is not cheap.

But the one in front of him, he felt, was very likely to be true!
If this is the case, it is enough to be regarded as a treasure to him.

Emperor Ningkang, who asked Dai Quan to accept the four calligraphy and paintings, sat back on the dragon chair, looked at Jia Lian, and no longer knew how to describe it.

"I dare not hide it from Your Majesty. After all the affairs in Yangzhou were settled, the salt merchants did give me a lot of benefits in order to let my ministers speak well of them in front of Your Majesty.

Among them, there are 10 taels of silver pattern and more than ten pieces of various antiques.

Weichen thought that if he didn't accept it, the salt merchants might feel uneasy and cause trouble easily, so he accepted it.

However, this official did not dare to take these things privately. Except for the four calligraphy and paintings presented to His Majesty just now, other items including 200 silver and various curiosities were put into the [-] million taels of silver and sent to him. The Ministry of Internal Affairs. "

Emperor Ningkang laughed and said, "Oh, if that's the case, didn't you come here in vain and didn't get any benefit?"

"Your Majesty, don't make fun of me. I do things for His Majesty and the court. As long as it is done, there is no such thing as running in vain.

Furthermore, I know that as long as I do my best to serve His Majesty, His Majesty will definitely not treat us meritorious officials badly!
If it is because of some petty interests that deceive the mind and make an act that hurts His Majesty's trust, then the loss outweighs the gain.

Weichen still understands this account. "

As Jia Lian spoke, she actually showed that she thought she was very shrewd.

Seeing this, Emperor Ningkang couldn't help scolding: "Pedantic!"

Although the scolding was scolding, the look on Emperor Ningkang's face all showed that he was satisfied with Jia Lian's awareness.

So he raised his hand, handed the brocade box presented by Jia Lian to Dai Quan, and said, "Give him 10 taels."

Emperor Ningkang's words were very generous.

Jia Lian hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, this is not allowed. Your Majesty belongs to the country and the country, and there are many places where money is needed.

I don't dare to accept it, besides, how can I spend so much money..."

Emperor Ningkang snorted and said, "If you tell you to take it, you can take it. This is not completely for you. I heard that your family almost emptied the treasury in order to build a garden for the imperial concubine. This is also a special trip to make up for you." home's."

Dai Quan also counted out 10 taels of silver bills and stuffed them into Jia Lian's hands at the right time, and said with a smile: "Master Zhenyuan, you can take it if the emperor tells you to. Hehe, this old slave has been with the emperor for so many years, but this is the first time See, the emperor alone gave such a heavy reward to one of his subjects, Lord Zhenyuan is No. 1."

Therefore, Jia Lian accepted the bank note "reluctantly" and thanked Emperor Ningkang.

But it is very clear in my heart.

Don't look at Emperor Ningkang scolding him for being pedantic, if he really admitted openly that he made money while helping him, even if Emperor Ningkang would not blame him, he would still have a lump in his heart.

As the old saying goes, the emperor does not send hungry soldiers.Therefore, most of the courtiers at the bottom will take the opportunity to get some oil and water when they do things. How could the emperor not know?
Even this is a matter of acquiescence from top to bottom.

However, it is one thing to acquiesce, but it is another thing to know that you are sneaky and greedy!

After all, is it the land of the king in the whole world, what the emperor rewards you is yours, and if you take it yourself, that is called disloyalty.

He can justifiably hold the 10 taels, because it includes the emperor's reward for his loyalty.

As for whether the reward of 10 taels would be too much...

It must be too much. In another scene, unless Emperor Ningkang is crazy, he will reward his courtiers with so much cash!
But it is easier to understand it in another way.

The younger brother helped the boss get more than 300 million "stolen money" and distributed it to the younger brother who will reuse [-] in the future. Isn't that too much?
It even seemed a little stingy.

After Jia Lian received the silver bill, Emperor Ningkang's attitude was obviously much warmer than before, and he even cared about some of the things mentioned in Jia Lian's memorial, especially when it was mentioned that someone dared to assassinate Jia Lian one after another. anger.

However, because the culprit had already been ransacked by Jia Lian, Emperor Ningkang expressed his concern and let him step down.

(End of this chapter)